No Place Like Home
by Corrinth
Summary: Unchanged from previous posting. A friend is returned to the X-Men after years of watching over them from not so far away. Can closure really happen for the X-Men?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer : I am making no money from this nor any of my other fics. Blaze and Raven belong to Lamby, Golan belongs to Star, Ilehana Xavier (Vixen) and Ori belong to me. All other original characters are combined creations of Star and myself and should not be used without permission.

A/N: And still the timeline goes on, eh Lamby? It should be noted that Vixen was most disgruntled when I condemned her to being a wolf for life not once but twice (the second time being in Lamby's X-Men : Evolution version of my fic "Guardians of Destiny"). This is my attempt to make things up to her!

**Chapter One - Xavier Mansion**

These last months, I have led a covert existence. No longer the mighty hunter, this wolf - old beyond a wolf's years - scrounges scraps from dustbins and wastelands to survive. I hide from the world, wandering the streets of this human city alone but with a confidence no other wolf could feel. This is, after all, my home. And from my hidden lairs, I watch over those they call the X-Men. I fight beside them, stalking my quarry and bringing down my prey, lending them my strength as needs must. I would give anything to be amongst them.

I watch him closest of all, the X-Man that goes by the name of Wolverine, but is also called Logan. Once, he was the strongest of us all, his mind clear of doubts and fear. He dealt with things as they came, the past was but a memory……… even when it was a forgotten one. His physical prowess outshone us all, his humour dry but witty, his loyalty clear and true. But now, in recent years, there is a weariness about him that he should not feel, sometimes he sits out in the gazebo and I could swear that tears glisten in those predatory eyes. Sometimes his gaze seems to fix on mine and he will raise his head, as if his nose catches just the slightest whiff of my scent, but I am always careful. I must not be detected.

But why? Why should a wolf - old beyond a wolf's years - care for the fate of these X-Men? Why should I sever myself from pack and kin to observe the ever-continuing war between human and mutant kind? Because, long ago, these mutants were my own kind, my friends, my brethren, my family. I was the first child to be taught by the great Charles Xavier. I was the first mutant to be taken under his wing. I was the Vixen, a telepathic mutant with the ability to morph into mammalian and avian predators, I was the Chosen One, selected by fate and the Ancient Ones to give up my human life so that the Guardians might be reborn. I was Ilehana Xavier, my father's daughter……… and now I am fated for all time to be a wolf.

Even now, as I watch the closest of my friends, he who was my brother in all but blood, as I watch the tears that fall from eyes still hidden by shades that are a comfort to Cyclops in these uncertain times, because he misses my friendship, because he feels lost without the strength of my father's love. As my heart cries out to comfort him, I must cower in my hideout. Unseen and unheard, a ghost wolf, I must go undetected so as not to break my bargain with the Ancients. And yet to see such pain cross his face, to see such hurt torment his very existence, the ache nearly tears my heart in two. But always I will watch them, always I will fight their fights, as long as this ageing body will allow………

But why, when I lost my human - mutant - life over five years ago, did I return only months ago to this city? The answer is simple - because I lost the one thing that kept me strong. I lost my mate and the father of my cubs. He too was a wolf, a telepathic wolf, but a wolf nonetheless. And it was losing him that made being away from home so hard to bear. When he and I were together, side by side, everything made sense and life was so much simpler. Through him, I lived. Even when we were apart, we were connected, never alone from the other. And he was never jealous of my feelings for the Wolverine. Never. It made no sense to his pragmatic wolf mind, that I should remain so attached to Logan, yet he accepted it, never questioning my loyalty to him or our cubs. Dear Ori - may the stars guide him safely to the Hunting Grounds - how much I miss him. He was my balance, my strength in those years since losing my father, my guide. Despite myself, despite everything, I loved him.

Small fires burn as a lone woman meditates on the lawn beyond the gazebo in the dim evening light. My wolf features soften as I watch her, Blaze, her red hair seems to burn with the fire she creates and controls. She is happy at last, I think. Married to the man she has loved for so many years, her child in her life once more, and the gentle curve to her belly suggests that she is pregnant again. The child will go far with such loyal and determined parents. As if reading my thoughts, her hand drops to rest over her belly button, she absently strokes the material of her strappy top. I hear her thoughts as she thinks of my father and I, wondering what we would make of it. He would be pleased for her, looking forward to another youngster running around the place, and I? I am happy for her and Gambit, and so very proud of how far she has come since we first met. She has grown beyond herself and her experiences, she no longer fears herself, and that is the greatest achievement of all.

A twig cracks beneath my paw, and Blaze's head snaps up. I freeze, fighting the urge to further betray my position. She looks about her for a few moments and, seeing nothing, closes her eyes again to sink back into her meditation. The slip is enough to tell me that the time has come to leave. I have lingered here too long, as is usual these long days. Regretfully, I slink away, going in search of a much needed meal. Luigi's bin will be full of scraps and I - I have no pride these days, no stomach for a glorified hunt. I am alone, with neither pack nor family, on the outside looking in on those who are, were, my kin. Though it breaks my heart to merely observe them, I will always do so, for I am their Chosen One, their pack sister, their friend, even if they will never know I am there.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer : I am making no money from this nor any of my other fics. Blaze and Raven belong to Lamby, Golan belongs to Star, Ilehana Xavier (Vixen) and Ori belong to me. All other original characters are combined creations of Star and myself and should not be used without permission.

A/N: I hope Lamby will forgive the paragraph about the Guardians - I stole and adapted it from her version of my fic "Guardians of Destiny" coz I liked the idea so much! Sorry matey!

**Chapter Two - Somewhere In New York State**

My belly growls. Not with hunger, nor because I have gorged myself, it simply growls. I sigh, one of the many human gestures I have not been able to drop during my time as a wolf. I sigh, I mull over insignificant things far too long, and I grumble when the rain soaks my grey fur. Nothing ever changes in this life. I think perhaps my belly growls because it cannot wrench as my heart does every time I think of the old ways. But then, in those days, I wished only for a peaceful life, of pack and the hunt. Perhaps the old saying is true - the hunting is always better on the other bank of the river. But I enjoyed my life as a wolf once, whatever this melancholy makes me think. There is nothing so satisfying as the sleep after the kill, nothing so calming as the feel of other bodies curled up in a warm, living mass of fur, nothing so spine-chilling and beautiful as the prayers to the Stars, the calls we lift to the sky after midnight………

I wonder what draws me to this place. What draws me from the city I know and love, from a territory of rich pickings, to this lonely, almost desolate town? Few people live here, perhaps two hundred. I miss the hustle and bustle of the big city, but something pulls me here, as if I am lead by a leash. It has been a long time since I have felt such a pull, I have felt it but a few times since I finished my task as the Chosen One, yet it is all too familiar and I obeyed the impulse to travel without a second thought. So here I am, forced to actually hunt for my food, for scraps worth eating are hard to come by. But when and why does a wolf not enjoy the hunt? Because in truth I have lived too long.

I settle to sleep in an old foxes den on the edge of town. It smells musty and unused, but there is no sign of death or disease, and the degree or two of extra warmth the shelter provides is welcome since I sleep alone these long nights. My dreams are peppered with half-forgotten memories of the wolf pack with whom Ori and I lived, of the X-Men and the battles we fought together, of Logan……… Memories of times gone by that drift in and out of my mind like the tides of the sea. Echoes of places and people that no longer have life, that have turned stale and soured like milk in the sun.

I wake to a dank and dismal morning. The smell of fresh rain curls about me, raindrops patter on the leaves above ground. Resting my muzzle on my forepaws and still laced with the warmth of sleep, I am loath to leave my new lair. With cramped limb muscles and an aching heart borne of my less than restful sleep, I crawl into the daylight. A stream created by the night's miserable weather provides enough water to slacken my thirst, an unsuspecting rat the first part of breakfast. The meat tastes - no, not like chicken - bitter and foul, but it is a taste to which I have become accustomed. Yet it does nothing to tame the craving for bacon that assaults me at regular intervals.

I freeze suddenly, a wolf's reaction to surprise, every hair on my neck stands on end. Every sense works overtime to recognise the danger……… there is a danger abroad, though of what making I cannot tell. But then a scent so familiar reaches me, the smell of jet fuel so pungent and cloying that it turns my stomach. Then I hear it - the Falcon - that had once been a pet project of mine. I alone had designed and built the three-seater mini-jet. It gives off a unique hum, a delicately soft sound for such a large hunk of machinery, as the stealth technology is switched off, and my paws detect the vibration as it lands. Unable to stop myself, as if pulled by some intangible force, I spin round and race towards my friends. So this is why I have been drawn here - my friends have need of me.

By the time I reach them, Cyclops and Wolverine are engaged in battle with what appears to be hundreds of identical mutants. The scream of Cyclop's laser vision pierces the air, a high pitched battle cry that echoes Logan's mighty roar, both of which aggravate my sensitive hearing. The Wolverine strikes out at several assailants, leaping towards another to kick it forcefully in the chest. He sails beyond the mutant, which stands watching him, laughing dryly at my old comrade's misfortune. The red beam of Cyclops' power strikes a clone - which vanishes into thin air, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. I blink rapidly, but suddenly my nose tells me what's going on. There is but one mutant here, the rest are all projections - not even true clones but mere mirages, illusions of the mind designed to protect the true mutant. They have no scent, and their beings are too clean cut, they have no aura of spiritual energy about them that all wolves see………

Somehow, my mind drifts from the battle in front of me into a distant memory, one of my last as a human, or the first as a wolf……... They were beautiful, the Guardians, when they were given their extra powers, the power I once possessed. Auras so strong and so beautiful that took them all, in so many indescribable shades of colour that only wolf eyes could see. Blaze, stunning Blaze, who seemed to glow with reds, yellows and every shade of orange in between fit for the fire she burns with, Logan radiated silvers and greys appropriate to the metal he possesses within both mind and body. Purple for Jean, Guardian of Thought, soft and gentle colours that fit her personality with a glittering edge that belies her determination, yellows for Storm, rays of sunshine for the weather-witch. Greens and browns for Golan, the stumpy, four-armed Guardian of Earth with speech that babbles like a brook……… Red for Cyclops, the colour of his power, hot reds burning about him, while Bobby exuded icy blues that chilled my soul with pleasure that day………

The voice calls to me, pulling my mind from the reaches of my memory. I hear it as I have heard so many pleas. Scott's voice, his thoughts, begging me for strength and guidance. He tires now, the energy seeping from him like daylight giving way to the darkness of night. I reach out softly, ever gently and undetected, giving him an ounce of my will. It is enough to make him reach for the trigger of his visor again. I cannot help him choose his target, something prevents me, perhaps the Gods who left me on this Earth as a wolf instead of taking my life. I am withdrawn, detached, and all I can do is hope that he will choose the right target.

He does not. The real mutant, meanwhile, pummels Logan with a series of body kicks and punches. Wolverine groans with the pain, his head must be reeling. Cyclops is oblivious, however, as he strikes another projection……… I can stand it no longer! Muscles that had been bunched where I cowered so as to be unseen suddenly release their store of energy as I race across to the man I love even now. With a mighty bound I crash into the aggressor, throwing him sideways. In the feral rage that battle always drowns me in, I am lost to the beast within me. My teeth bite into the soft flesh of neck, I revel in the taste of blood that is not my own. I am a hunter again! Proud and victorious, the mightiest hunter in these territories! None can tame me! The life seeps from my prey, blood stops pumping from the puncture wounds my teeth have caused, I worry the scrawny neck of the thing beneath me.

I feel his eyes on me. Logan stares for so long as I turn, unbidden, to meet his gaze. In that longest of moments as our eyes meet at last, he frowns deeply. I see his thoughts as he takes in my markings - the black tips to my ears and twitching tail, the blonde highlights across my furry chest and muzzle. See the dawn of realisation in the eyes of the Wolverine as he sees me, not the wolf but the woman he once knew and loved. And in my own mind I feel the battle fury draining away like water down a plug hole. I am left staring stupidly into his predatory brown eyes, deep pools in which I would drown myself if I could. All of me longs to break out of this stupefied torpor and run to him, to feel his arms around me, crushing the air from my lungs, all of me except the tiny voice in my mind that, without mercy, reminds me of my bargain with the Ancients. Lost in a mist of conflicting desires, I close my eyes, lowering my muzzle in a vain attempt to quell the chaos of memories and emotions that the moment has brought back to me.

He moves. My eyes snap open as I hear him take the smallest of steps towards me. What a fool I have been! I have broken my bargain, I have interacted with those I swore I would leave behind me. Ori would have called me a cub's cub, meaning that I am more foolish and naïve than a newborn wolf. In the vain hope of rectifying the damage my stupidity has caused, I abandon all hope and desire, all dignity, and turn on my tail and run. And drifting on the wind that chases me from all I have dreamed of over the last months, I hear his voice, so sad and forlorn, utter a single word.

"Ilehana?"


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer : I am making no money from this nor any of my other fics. Blaze and Raven belong to Lamby, Golan belongs to Star, Ilehana Xavier (Vixen) and Ori belong to me. All other original characters are combined creations of Star and myself and should not be used without permission.

A/N: Having written this chapter, I feel so cruel. Poor li'l cute things! Also, you might want to read "Guardians of Destiny" if this chapter confuses you. I hadn't meant to get into the legends again, but I have my reasons!

**Chapter Three - Somewhere In New York State**

Sleep takes me.

I have run without stopping for an unknown number of days. I know not how many times the moon has risen and set, nor where I am, only that I must put as much distance between myself and the X-Men as possible. I have forced myself beyond the point of exhaustion, my quivering limbs simply will not carry my body any further. I have neither eaten nor drunk, my mind is so clouded that I stumbled without warning as I ran. More than once I have tumbled nose over tail down banks, tripped over my own paws to crash my jaw upon the bare earth, I have bled from scrapes and grazes, bruised parts of me I wasn't even sure I had, but not a bone in my body can bring me to care. I have been a fool, and for that I deserve every hurt a thousand fold.

Sleep takes me where I have stumbled to the ground again, leaving me lying in the open and vulnerable to attack. I do not care. If it pleases the Ancients that I should die here, then die I will. I would welcome that sweet oblivion that would carry me from the pain I feel now. Because it is not just my body that aches with wounds both new and old, my heart feels more torn in two now than the day I became a wolf. On that day everything seemed right, as if it were meant to be, but in that moment when our eyes met, Logan and I shared more than words or even telepathy could have offered. I love him still, I never stopped loving him, and I know he feels the same………

I do not dream that night. I sleep, a deep, dark sleep that soothes my hurts and aching head. My mind, accepting the quiescence that my exhaustion brings, does not dwell on what has or what might have been. I am grateful for this, and when I wake I am more refreshed than after any sleep of late. I am also hungry, hungry not just for food but for the hunt, a desire I have not felt in a long time. There is an enormous comfort in taking the time to track my prey, in the chase, in the feast afterward. A hare is a small meal, but being alone I cannot bring down anything larger. The leverets provide dessert, though there is little meat on their tiny bodies. I have never felt a kinship that some humans feel with these tiny furry beings - but then I was a hunter from the moment I was born, a predator through and through. And though the meal is small, I am sated, at least for the moment.

I find a secluded spot and settle to sleep again. I must rest, I know that now. I have put enough distance between myself and my loved ones for the time being. They will not find me here, wherever that may be. My thoughts and feelings are not so easily left behind. I wonder what has happened to them. Have the Ancients revoked our bargain because of a moments lack of thought? I suppose that I will never know. I can never go back. It is the only sure way to know that I will not make the same mistake again. I can never go back.

Eventually, I fall into some form of trance that is not quite sleep but I am no longer awake. Charles Xavier greets me - my father, my rock, my guide, Witness to the return of the Guardians of Destiny - his arms encasing my wolf body in a warm and gentle embrace. As I look up into his eyes, so like my own, tears glitter and fall on both sides. Old hurts are remembered and forgotten in those moments, past dreams revived, we cry together for the love, the hurts, the pride that we shared for one another, for the love lost when my mother - his wife - left our world to wait for us in whatever we go to when we die.

#Is this it?# I ask him softly, the tears falling still. #Is this death? Is this what I have feared for so long?# For I am no longer afraid. Death, with the conflict and pain within me, would be but a release. What is there to fear in that?

#No, my daughter.# He smiles as he reassures me, his hand stroking my ears flat against my neck. #You are not destined to die yet.#

Somehow I am disappointed, but then the Ancients must wish to punish me for my foolishness, for breaking my bargain with them. What worse punishment could there be than to keep me here on this earth when death would set me free? I sigh heavily, resting my muzzle in his hand. If I must remain then I might as well enjoy this moment. I had always thought that if, by some strange coincidence, I was ever to meet my father again, I would have so many questions to ask him - but now that the moment is here, I feel strangely content. There are no questions, only peace. I feel safe with him here beside me, strong and complete.

#Ilehana,# the tone of his voice tells me that the peace will not last, #the Ancients are displeased. You broke your pact………#

#I know.# I interrupt, drawing away. I do not deserve his comfort. #I did not mean to………#

#This they also know, and commend your action. Gods forgive, Ilehana, that is what makes them Gods. When you chose your form - the wolf - you signed up to their way of life, the life of pack. You have been alone too long, Chosen One, Sacrifice, Guardian………#

#I am no Guardian.# I correct him sharply.

#You are the Guardian of the Guardians.# Xavier smiles again. #Some parts of the Guardian legends were never recorded, my daughter. You fulfilled your part in the return of the Guardians of Destiny, you gave up all that was dear to you……… you have been alone too long, my daughter, my love, my Guardian. The time has come for you to be free of all contracts, to find your own pack once more.#

#I don't understand.# I tell him; find my pack? What can he mean? I left behind all ties to all packs when I ran from Logan……… I find myself looking toward my father for guidance and comfort - old habits die hard after all. He holds out his hand and I step under it once more. He strokes his hand back along my neck and spine, a gesture that soothes all worries and confusions.

#By morning, you will understand.# He encourages me, his voice calm and soft. I find myself yawning, I am growing sleepy now, and his image begins to slide away from me. I try to hold onto it, but there is nothing I can do to stop him leaving me alone again. However, he continues to talk, his voice echoing in the deepening darkness that envelops me. #Sleep now, Ilehana, and have no fear. We watch over you always, Chosen One. Go to sleep now.#

I have no choice but to obey.


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer : I am making no money from this nor any of my other fics. Blaze and Raven belong to Lamby, Golan belongs to Star, Ilehana Xavier (Vixen), Ori and Hana belong to me. All other original characters are combined creations of Star and myself and should not be used without permission.

A/N: Reviews welcome. This, I promise, is as far ahead of X2 that I'm taking this timeline, though I can't speak for Lamby. It's set something like sixteen years afterward - yikes! Now all that's left is to fill in the blanks! I adapted this chapter once Lamby had written her version ("No Home Like This" - it's cool, go read!) coz I realised I'd miss an important piece out! Cheers matey!

**Chapter Four - Somewhere In New York State**

Something feels wrong.

It hits me before I have even opened my eyes. As I come to I stretch languidly, raising my arms above my head and pointing my feet. The ground feels strangely lumpy beneath my back as I knuckle the sleep from my eyes with my fists. I stand slowly, stretching again. My skin feels too large, a little odd, like clothes of the wrong cut……… And then - how could I have missed it? - it strikes me. I had raised my arms above my head, used my fists, I am human again! Human? But how………. Why?

Of course, my father's words; You have been alone too long, my daughter……… The time has come for you to be free of all contracts, to find your own pack once more. He was right, my bargain with the Ancients has been dissolved. Does that mean that I am free? Truly free for the first time in my life? I sigh happily as this dawns upon me - there is no weight pressing down on my shoulders, neither call nor influence upon me. This, perhaps, is the strangest sensation of all. For all my life, I have had something to strive for - my calling as the Chosen One, vying for my father's attentions as a child, to care for the X-Men and the children of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. But here and now, in this one moment, I have none of these great responsibilities. In this instant, I am free.

The choices ahead of me begin to seep in to view. I can go anywhere, do anything……… but there is only one place I long to be. I must find my own pack once more, with my mutant kin. There is only one place I belong - the Xavier Institute, 'Mutant High', home. I run my fingers round the tight collar of my uniform - a nice touch, or a less than subtle reminder? - the black leather clings to my form. I don't think it has changed much since I last saw myself like this. The X-emblem sits upon the uniform over my heart. I trace the X softly, smiling proudly to myself. My long, blonde hair is pulled back into a tight, neat pony-tail , just the way I used to wear it, yet it feels heavy and awkward compared to a wolf's tail. I drag my fingers through the soft, smooth golden locks, not at all like the harsh fur of a wolf. I wonder just how much my appearance has changed………

"Done thinking yet?" I turn quickly to face my addresser. Blaze stands downwind, my friend of old and loyalist of all my companions. Somehow I am not surprised that it is she who found me.

"I think so." I chuckle my response. The words roll off my tongue with a little difficulty, but then it has been years since I last spoke aloud. Blaze's straight face cracks into a grin, her eyes glow with her fire and her pleasure. I cross the distance between us, taking my first upright steps and finding the process manageable, to hug her warmly. "But how did you know where to find me?" After all, I have no idea where I am………

"Ah, now there's a story!" Blaze tucks her arm through mine, bearing me away to where the Falcon waits for us. "I was dreaming. The Professor and I were looking at a map when he points certainly to a particular point on the map and says - with that look of certainty in his eye, that look that pierces, you know the one I mean?"

"I do." I answer wryly. I know I use the same look myself from time to time………

"So he says "That's where you'll find her." And I'm thinking, me? Not us? But he just keeps on repeating the same statement." She taps her head comically. "Photographic memory - I'm not likely to forget the reference. One other thing I do know, Gambit's gonna kill me when I get back."

"Married life suiting you both then?" I ask, smiling.

"How………?" She stops and looks at me hard. "It was you, wasn't it? That day I was meditating, it was you in the bushes! I was thinking of you……… and that day when we fought Venu, when we were trying to save Jessie and the Prices……… I asked you for help……… you were there, weren't you?" The last words came as a direct challenge, and I hang my head a little.

"It was me." I confirm quietly. "I've been watching over you all since I lost Ori. It's all that has kept me going for so long now………" My voice trails off - there is so much I long to tell her, but now that the time has come I just can't find the words. But Blaze, as always, understands. She simply hugs me fiercely, and I could swear I caught her using her power to evaporate a tear or two in that moment.

The Falcon touches down in the hanger beneath the basketball court with barely a bump. Blaze is quite the accomplished pilot. Said friend disappears very quickly, muttering something about Gambit flaying her alive for leaving without so much as a word, leaving me gazing around the hanger. The Eagle stands in its place, a beautiful sight even if it reeks of jet fuel. A round dozen stealth bikes are lined up along one wall - four more than I left with the Guardians in China. I sigh with contentment to see it all, to be amongst all the machinery that is so familiar to me despite over five years absence. I turn to follow Blaze into the lower levels, but the doorway is blocked by another memorable face. I freeze, unsure what to say. Let's face it - the last time Logan saw me I was running at full pelt in the opposite direction to him.

"I always knew you were alive." Are the first words out of his mouth.

"I sometimes wondered." The retort makes him smile slightly, and I have no idea where it came from.

"So, um, how do you feel?" He asks then.

"A little strange………" I suddenly get the feeling that he isn't really interested in the answer, there's only one thing he wants, and I confess I share the sentiment. I remember the first time I flung myself into Logan's arms, out in the gazebo, so many years ago, and I repeat the motion now, going a step further to kiss him soundly on the lips. What passes between us in that moment is indescribable, and our own business. Suffice to say, as has always been the way between us, there is no need for further words or explanations. Logan drapes an arm around my shoulders, leading me through the lower levels though my feet carry me as if I have never left the place.

"Where you go anyway Chere?" Gambit asks the question of Blaze, still holding her tight to him as Logan and I round the corner. His unique eyes are closed tight as he holds her, he neither sees nor hears us. I realise then how afraid he is of losing Blaze again. Does he not see that she is past all that, that with his love and support she has come to accept who and what she is? I have to wonder, as Blaze wriggles away from him a little to look into his face, if the same will ever be true for me.

"I found her!" There is an edge of excitement to her words, an impatience as Gambit frowns in his confusion.

"What? Who?"

"Me, Remy." I know not why I use his true name over his alias, perhaps it is an attempt to reaffirm old friendships. Gambits jaw drops open, his red-on-black eyes searching for mine. Everything about him smiles, and when our gazes meet, I realised that I need not have worried - these people have missed me as much as I have missed them. And now, here, together, we are all whole again. Already, it is beginning to feel as if the last five years have never existed as Gambit sweeps me up in a breath-taking hug.

"Now this is the type of welcome a girl could get used to coming home to!" I joke, taking in Gambit's dressing gown and boxers a little too slowly. I can't deny that Gambit is a good-looking man, but to me not a patch on Logan. However, that doesn't mean I would pass on an open opportunity to wind Logan up, and nor would Gambit. The Wolverine growls jealously, as we all knew he would, and Gambit appeases him by stepping back to wrap a long arm around Blaze once more. Likewise, I return to Logan's embrace. Perhaps someday he will learn that Gambit and I are simply friends, that neither of us is capable of so betraying our partners and our friends. Indeed, Blaze finds the whole thing so amusing that she must unsuccessfully hide her grin behind her hand, prompting Logan to make some terrible joke that I miss due to my reflections, and a fireball comes dangerously close to catching his sideburns.

Sometime later, sated from a breakfast of bacon sandwiches, coffee and reminiscing, I go in search of some old friends, Blaze and Gambit at my side. All the plans I had been creating to surprise various members of the team go out of the metaphorical window as we round the corner and run straight into Scott. He snaps at me to be more careful, clearly not in the best of moods, then I feel his eyes meet mine. He freezes, the only movement a slight twitch of his jaw.

"Hey One-Eye." I greet him softly, barely aware of a student running past us.

"C - claws?" He chokes, staring at me through those infamous red-lens shades that he still clings to even though he no longer needs them. It is the same with our pet-names for one another, names that mean nothing and yet everything to us, that bond our friendship through every bump in a very rocky road. "Is it really you?"

A lump has risen in my throat, I cannot answer him, nor does he expect me to. Reaching out, he clings to me the same force with which he had held me upon the day we were forced to say goodbye, something I had not expected but return with fervour. I manage to utter the same words as on that fateful day in China "Scott… my brother…" Tears fall then, he and I have known each other so long and though I do not always approve of his choices in life, I would not be without him, my father's first adopted son, my brother and one-time lover. I loved him then, and though that love has changed, I love him still.

I sleep in wolf-form that night, my old morphing powers returned to me. And though I sleep under the stars in the chill of the clear nights air in the form I now hate as much as I love it, I do not sleep alone. Logan, like Gambit, has yet to see that this place, this school, this house, is so much more than a building to me. It is an institute of learning, a base for those who fight the good fight, a safe-house for those curse or blessed by mutations. More than that, this place is my home, one which I will never leave again. I am bound to it by the life my father left behind. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was his dream, his vision. For me, it is so much more than that. It is the legacy Charles Xavier left in my paws - hands - it is my destiny. We have always known that the battle for better mutant-human relations must go on - we are the warriors for peace, the soldiers of order born to fight chaos, we are the Guardians of human and mutant kinds, the Guardians of Destiny. I cannot abandon that task, that honour, but moreover, I will not abandon my friends, my loves, my family.

After all, there's no place like home.

THE END

A/N: You know me, I dedicate all my pieces to somebody. Well, this one goes purely and simply to Ilehana Xavier, my Vixen, because she's been a star character throughout the last couple of years. I've put her through hell time and time again and she always comes out stronger. She deserves a happy ending, I hope that this one is good enough for her!


End file.
